Restaurant review: The Mews

The flounder with lemon and parsley risotto is served up at The Mews, a Provincetown restaurant that has a three-course meal from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday.
[LAURIE HIGGINS]

By Laurie Higgins, contributing writer

There aren’t a lot of restaurants that are open year-round on the Outer Cape or in the town of Provincetown, but The Mews Restaurant & Café cheerfully bucks that trend. Somehow, we managed to miss dining there until recently when our oldest daughter urged us to try her favorite restaurant on the Cape. She was confident we would love it and we did.

We were seated side-by-side at a cozy wooden table near a window on the top floor. A stunning Christmas tree shimmered on the beach below and a lone fox dug holes in the sand offering entertainment from our front row seats. Charming tree branches decorated with miniature white lights and snowflakes hung above us and we also had a nice view of the gas fireplace.

From 5 to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, The Mews offers a three-course meal for $35, which we took advantage of. My meal began with the pan-seared scallop appetizer. One perfectly seared scallop rested on an elegant smear of creamy celery root puree. It came with a crispy morsel of tender pork belly and was topped with mustard cress. The accompanying sweet pickled onions and red pepper slices added some sass.

My husband’s lobster and corn chowder was equally delicious. It had plenty of both ingredients along with small-diced potatoes. Bacon added a lot of smoky flavor and the drizzle of truffle chive oil on top was lovely.

For the main course, I ordered the flounder. It was extremely fresh and the filets had been rolled to create one thicker piece of fish that made it easier to cook. It also presented beautifully with a golden-brown top and a flavorful lemon thyme beurre blanc. The flounder came with lemon and parsley risotto that was creamy but still had a nice bite. The accompanying broccolini, baby turnip and carrot were a bit too crisp, but I would much rather have them slightly underdone than overdone.

My husband ordered the eight-ounce prime Wagyu top sirloin from the 7X Ranch in Colorado. It was perfectly cooked to order, and had a fabulous beefy flavor. This was a cut of meat that you really had to slice thin against the grain in order for it to be as tender as possible. He had no problem with executing that. The steak was served with a veal demi glaze and came on top of a bed of winter vegetables that included Brussel sprouts, pearl onions, baby turnips, carrots, broccolini, potatoes, shiitake mushrooms and butternut squash.

For beverages, a glass of Joseph Drouhin chardonnay ($12) and a glass of Sequoia Grove cabernet ($13) were nice accompaniments that paired well with our dishes.

We were actually too full for dessert, but it came with the meal so we ordered it and brought most of it home to enjoy later. The mocha mousse torte was extremely decadent with thin layers of dense chocolate cake filled with a thick layer of creamy mocha mousse. It came with a dollop of Drambuie whipped cream and a scoop of mocha ice cream. The whole plate was drizzled with caramel sauce made with triple sec.

The tiramisu was light with lady fingers soaked in rum and Kahlua-laced espresso, layered with creamy mascarpone and topped with fine French Valrhona chocolate sauce. It was wonderful.

Our daughter was happy to hear about our experience and we made plans to go back when she visits for Christmas. Reservations are strongly recommended, even on a weeknight, but especially on Monday nights when they have a wildly popular, thoroughly entertaining open mic night.